More User Reviews:

Clear brassy color with a good amount of off-white lacing. Buttery, fruity and hoppy aroma without one overpowering the other. Smooth and slightly chewy with a bit more body than expected, but we'll take it. Malt flavors are thick and slightly sweet with overtones of bread and light caramel. The hop bitterness tries to cut deep, but clearly it creates a stalemate, and balance is called. Buttery around the edges with a vague ripe fruitiness tagging along, a true sign of the English-style yeast. Hop bitterness prickles the taste buds for a while with light orangey and tobacco leaf flavors. Finishes bittersweet and buttery.

A stand-up beer from a stand-up brewery. The English flare is quite apparent, with enough hops to not cast any doubt that this is indeed an IPA and certainly leans toward the American IPA style.

$6.99 at my local Hannafords. Label said Best Before Aug 09 on the label. In a pint glass the beer was a golden color with a medium-sized white head and a bit of lacing. Aroma was primarily floral, with a little hint of citrus. A little malt presence also. I thought it tasted more grapefruit than anything else. The taste intensified on my palate. A crisp, easily drinkable beer, and a nice one to celebrate 21 years.

A-Slightly veiled bright copper amber with a thin creamy eggshell head that settles rapidly. I remember getting more of a head with this beer, so maybe it was a bit cold or a gentle pour.

S-Well balanced nose with a strong malt coming through the citrus hops.

T-The nose carries through to the palate, with a sweet malty backbone followed by citrus hops and an astringent bitter finish. A very well done IPA...not terribly complex, but rock solid and enjoyable.

M-Medium in carbonation and density, with a slight touch of oil.

D-This is a very drinkable brew, I really enjoy it, and would not hesitate to buy it again. Upon reviewing this beer a year later I find that it was not as good as my earlier reviews...it is no Racer 5...but it is a pretty decent effort for a Maine beer.

Grittys does not make a bad beer, and this is one of their better ones. This has been hanging in the fridge from a pack that I bought back in July when in Maine. This was somewhat hoppier when fresh, and has mellowed a bit over the summer with the malts coming to the fore. Still a nice little brew.

Pours a clear copper color with a large tan foamy head,not a bad looking brew. The smell is pretty strong with bread yeast and a citrus hop aroma present. The taste is crisp with citrus and bitter hop flavors along with some roasted malt. The m/f is light with all the flavors mixing well. A pretty good IPA from an underrated East coast brewery.

A- Bomber poured gently leaves a small off white head that fades after a minute or two on a light copper body.S- Sweet malts and equally sweet floral hop aroma. Pretty mild hop presence in the smell for an IPA.T- Taste is just right. Light, sweet malts take a backseat to a tropical, almost fresh hop flavor. Little to no alcohol present in the taste. Some resiny hops in the aftertaste.M- Light carbonation, medium body, just what I would expect based on the appearance. Crisp, finishes clean.D- This a very drinkable beer. Great flavor, clean, but a little heavy on the alcohol for a session beer. If I lived somewhere this was distributed there would always be a bomber in my fridge. Thanks for sharing, GrittyMug!

A rough pour brings up a majestic head of frothy, slightly yellow-tinged off-white foam. The retention is excellent, as is the lacing - creamy rings are left behind with each sip. beneath, a hazy amber-copper body displays gleeming golden highlights at the base of the glass. Some particulate can be seen resting at the bottom, and I'll assume that it's yeast as this is a fairly new bottle (best by 8/09).

Only tiny bubbles can be seen beneath the head when the glass is swirled (no bubbles are seen rising), and that indicates a fairly low carbonation. The mouthfeel backs that up, and it's soft and creamy across the palate with a medium body and delicate caress from the carbonation.

The aroma is malty, yeasty, and hoppy. It's not boldly hoppy, but present; more English in nature than American. It's floral and grassy over a bready, biscuity, and gently caramelish malt base.

The flavor follows suit, but it's much fuller than the aroma lets on. The malt is up first, quickly followed by a shot of fruitiness that cuts through it, and is that citrus? Interesting, it didn't really come off as citrusy in the nose. The malt and hop flavors meld exceptionally well, and the brittle bitterness supports them both with just enough force to keep everything from tumbling down. Very nicely focused! It finishes with a drying, slightly chalky character due to the combination of hop bitterness and resin, and residual yeast. It lingers shortly with a sweetish dollop of citrusy honey that fades to leave the back of the mouth dried by leafy, grassy, and just slightly herbal hops.

Surprisingly well-rounded, this is an exceptionally drinkable IPA in that, number one, it's quite accessible; two, it's nicely balanced; and three, there's more than enough flavor overall to keep you coming back for more than one. I certainly wouldn't question having three of these in an evening. Worth trying, for sure.

Had a bottle at Little Ortino's with my Hawaiian pizza, nice pairing. This had a nice, big hop character, but the Ringwood and diacetyl were very obvious. I don't say that as a bad thing, but those who despise Ringwood beers should stay away. Otherwise, there was a rich mix of citrus peel and grapefruit. It's not amazing, but completely satisfying. All in all, a pretty good IPA.

obtained from a trade. poured from a bottle. smells kind of butterscotch and tastes like it too. this is def a one of a kind IPA. very sweet with light malts that remind me of muffins, not biscuits. an interesting IPA, not very bitter at all. carbonation is medium light and releases the butterscotch esq flavor. i could drink this now and then but not all the time. overall, a very interesting take on an IPA.

Pours a brilliant, slightly hazy copper color with the tiniest of bubbles releasing themselves throughout the glass. Sticky white head comes up nicely with ample retention only to leave with a wonderful continuous lace around the glass.

Aroma is wonderfully floral with a good bit of sweetness mixed in. Notable malt profile in the nose hints maybe at some caramel malt, but the hop aromas cover this up pretty well.

Taste would be best described as comfortably hoppy. This is not a palate buster but a considerable amount of Cascade, Willamette, and Warrior hops provide enough floral and citrus notes to make me happy. Malt flavors are not completely absent and provide for a more balanced taste compared to many other IPAs

While Gritty's is one of the many Ringwood breweries we have here in New England, the typical Ringwood yeast flavors found in other offerings from this brewery are not as noticeable in 21 IPA. While my tastebuds want to tell me the buttery flavors are there, they are just not strong enough for me to be sure.

Mouthfeel shows a solid body but is plenty smooth. Overall a very drinkable IPA.

Poured a dark amber/red with a two-finger head that shrank pretty quickly. The first thing that I notice is some surprisingly big bubbles that form the head, and I can see very plainly see more rising - I'm already thinking this is gona be tingly on the tongue.

Nice bitterness, but definitely more piney/nutty/earthy than in the citrusy sense I've come to expect. Those big bubbles didn't lie either; this one definitely has some carbonation to it. That said, it goes real easy with a crisp, slender mouth-feel.

Not the best IPA I've ever had, but it seems very sessionable - although I haven't looked that up yet to be sure. Anyway, definitely recommended.

From the 12 fl. oz. bottle with an expiration date of February 2010. Sampled on September 12, 2009. A cloudy but appealing amber pour with about a quarter inch foamy beige head and excellent lacing. A balance of bitter hops and caramel sweetness on the nose. Smooth and creamy mouthfeel of about a medimum texture. The flavor tends to lean sweeter than hoppy but the balance is rather appealing.

Overall, a nice hoppy IPA. Pours a clear amber color with a small white head. Good floral, hoppy smell.

Taste has a nice balance between a sweet maltiness and the hoppy bite. The hops run the show, but enough sweetness rounds it out nicely.

A fun and enjoyable beer.

Got another bottle of this as a Christmas present. Got a whole different beer this time, an "American wild IPA", perhaps. Wildly foamy, funky and sour upfront, then balanced by some residual sweetness and a little hoppiness for good measure. The funk made this into a much more interesting beer. Sadly, I don't think this was intentional.

This bottle, simply put, was a sweeter and less effervescent version of JP La Roja. I really liked it. But this was just a lucky accident, I'm afraid. Too bad, if the brewer could claim it was on purpose, this would sell for triple the price.

A - Poured a translucent amber colour; not cloudy at all. Half a finger of creamy white head that disappeared very quickly.

S - Semi-sweet malts up front with a very faint bitter hop nose in the background. Some bready malts as well as a citrus scent in the background. The citrus scent is not a typical hop citrus. It is more of the citrus that you get from a wheat beer. Very odd nose for an IPA.

T - The palate mostly follows the nose. Bready malts - but the hints of sweetness are gone. A faint bitter (somewhat sour) hop presence. The hops have no discernible citrus, pine of floral taste - just the general bitterness is noticeable.

M - Light body, no chew at all. Lightly carbonated.

D - Not my kind of IPA. I almost wonder if I had a bad bottle. I would not buy this again.